


The Runner

by Abraham



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abraham/pseuds/Abraham
Summary: Magnum and Higgins are hired to find a missing marathon runner.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 18
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

“Good morning! Sorry I’m late,” Higgins said as she rushed into the guest house.

“It’s fine. We just started,” Magnum said giving her a ‘everything OK?’ look.

She nodded quickly and then reached out to shake their newest client’s hand.

“Hello. I’m Juliet Higgins, Thomas’ partner.”

“Adam Sawyer.”

“Adam was just explaining that his girlfriend is missing.”

“I’m so sorry,” Higgins said. “Did you file a missing person’s report?”

“I did. The police have not made Shelby a priority. You see, she’s had a kind-of colored past.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shelby and I have only been dating for about five months. We met through this running group we’re in. She’s a recovering addict and she’s been doing really good. Running has been her saving grace.”

“Tell us what happened,” Higgins said.

“We signed up to run the Honolulu Marathon so we’ve been really trying to follow the training plan. We always do our long runs on the weekend since we don’t have to work. Last week, my Achilles was really bothering me and I went to see a trainer. He told me to bike or swim, and to take a break from running. So I couldn’t do the long run.”

“Did she go by herself?” Thomas asked.

“No, she met up the with group, but they said she started to fall behind and she told them to keep going, that she would catch up. At the end, though, she didn’t finish. They assumed she had turned around and gone back home.”

“Wasn’t her car still in the lot?” Higgins asked.

“We share a car and I had dropped her off early to stretch before the rest of the group arrived. Then I went to the Natatorium to swim. When I went back, she wasn’t there and she wouldn’t answer her phone.”

Magnum and Higgins asked more questions and got some information about the running group. Adam explained that there were close to 50 people in the group, but it varied on how many runners met up each week and they usually tried to run in a different location each time.

Magnum and Higgins promised to keep him updated on the case and walked him to the door.

“Do you think Shelby had a relapse and didn’t want Adam to know?” Higgins asked as they headed into the kitchen.

“Definitely a possibility,” Magnum said. “We should get the missing person’s report from Katsumoto and then talk to some of Shelby’s friends.

Adam had given them a couple names. He wasn’t sure who she was close with since they had just started dating, but there was a woman from Shelby’s work and someone who lived in her apartment building.

“Where were you this morning?” Magnum asked.

“What? I had an appointment.”

Thomas looked at her.

“It was a doctor’s appointment. OK Mr. Nosy?”

“You didn’t say anything about it.”

“I don’t tell you everything that is happening in my life Magnum!”

“OK. I just want to make sure my partner is solid.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

After picking up the missing persons report, which really didn’t tell them anything new, they decided to talk to Shelby’s co-worker Amanda. Shelby worked at a kennel.

“Wow. Maybe Zeus and Apollo would enjoy coming here. Doggie Daycare,” Magnum said as they walked along the kennels to the outside lawn where Amanda was supervising a group of dogs.

“Very funny.”

“Hi. I’m Thomas Magnum. This is my partner Juliet Higgins. We’re looking into the disappearance of Shelby Winters.”

Amanda was very friendly and said she was so worried about Shelby. “We’ve worked together for about a year. She didn’t really talk about her past too much, but she really seemed to like her new boyfriend. I only met him once, but he seemed nice.”

“Did she ever mention being followed or have a bad feeling about anything?” Magnum asked.

“Not really. She did say that one of the guys in the running group was kind of creepy. But I think he backed off when he found out Shelby was dating Adam.”

“She didn’t mention his name, did she?” Higgins asked.

“I’m sorry. I can’t really remember.”

“Well so far this has been a bust,” Higgins said as they walked back to the car. “Maybe we should check older missing persons reports and see if there were any similar cases.”

Shelby’s other friend wasn’t able to add any new information to help. She explained that she traveled a lot and really hadn’t seen Shelby much since she started dating Adam.

They headed back to Robin’s Nest, grabbed some dinner, and spent the rest of the evening combing through old news stories and reports of missing woman, about the same age as Shelby. They managed to come up with three possibilities.

“Let’s run these names past Adam tomorrow and see if any of these women were in the running group,” Magnum said.

“Sounds good. I may just need to join that group and pretend that I’m training for the marathon.”

“We can both join.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard Magnum.”

“I know. This way we can both talk to different people and cover more ground.”

They decided they had done enough for one night. As Magnum headed out the door, he turned around. “Hey. Everything is OK with you, right? You would tell me if you needed anything?”

Higgins looked over at him. He looked so sincere. She had never met a man like him before – so smart with an incredibly kind heart and an impulsive nature.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

He looked into her eyes.

“Seriously. I’m fine. Good night Magnum. Get a good night’s rest if you hope to keep up with me and the running group tomorrow.”

He grinned back at her. "We'll see if you can keep up with me."


	2. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnum and Higgins join the running group.

Higgins was seriously kicking his butt. They had been running with the group for two weeks now, just a couple days a week, but enough to make every muscle in his body scream for relief. Of course, he would never tell Higgins that. In fact, whenever she suggested an extra mile, he readily agreed, hiding any indication of pain until he was carefully hidden behind his closed door. Today had been especially brutal. They had done a hill workout trying to increase their endurance. Even the hot shower did nothing to alleviate the stiffness in his legs. He was getting too old for this.

Meanwhile, in the main house, Higgins was struggling just as much.

“Juliet. Here are the Epsom salts you asked for,” Kumu said. 

“Thank you Kumu. You are a lifesaver.”

“There has to be another way to find this girl. You and Thomas are killing yourselves.”

“I don’t think Thomas is in any pain. He’s always ready to run another mile even though I’m begging him in my head to just let us stop.”

“Ha! I heard him groaning as he walked down every step to the beach the other morning. Don’t let him pretend otherwise.”

Higgins chuckled at the image. She and Thomas were both stubborn and both sore losers.

Thomas came over later that afternoon.

“Hey Higgy. I’m not sure we’re ever going to find out what happened to Shelby.”

He gingerly lowered himself onto the couch.

Kumu might be right, Higgins thought.

“No one I’ve talked with seems suspicious or seems to know what happened to her.”

They had come up with one surprising lead. One of the three girls from the missing persons articles had been a part of the running group.

Her family, though, said they had received an email from her a month later stating that she had moved to the mainland with a new boyfriend. They hadn’t heard anything since, but were hopeful she would reach out again.

“I don’t know,” Magnum said. “Maybe I need to back off running.”

“What?”

“Everyone thinks we’re together. Maybe if you’re there by yourself, our guy will make a move.”

“You just don’t want to run anymore!”

“That is definitely a bonus,” he said under his breath. 

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll be nearby, listening in if you need help.”

The next day, Thomas feigned an injury and promised to return to the trailhead in a couple hours to pick her up.

With the route mapped on the WinningRaces running app, Magnum was able to somewhat follow where Higgins was running.

“I’m hearing lots of heavy breathing Higgy. Try to remember, in through the nose, out through the mouth.”

“Shut up Magnum or I’m throwing this earbud away.”

Magnum could hear something garbled in the background. Then Higgins was talking, but not to him. She must be running with someone.

“Oh nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

Then more garbled voices.

“Haha. No. Thomas and I are just friends. To tell you the truth, he’s a little clingy and kind of a freeloader.”

“I can hear you Higgins,” Thomas said. “Don’t forget. I’m your ride home, unless you’d prefer to run an extra 10 miles.”

Higgins finished the run and Magnum picked her up at the end.

“Someone needs a shower!”

She gave him a withering look. “Well, that was slightly more productive. I talked with one girl who swears Shelby had stopped for water and then started feeling sick the day she went missing. And Rafael kept staring at me. I wonder if he’s the guy that made Shelby uncomfortable?”

“Any idea what his last name is? We can do a deep dive on him.”

Higgins leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. “I also think we should look into Anna, the other girl from the group who disappeared,” she said. “I’m not certain she actually moved to the mainland.”

When they got back to Robin’s Nest, Higgins went to take a shower. She came over to Magnum’s after.

“Hey Jules,” Rick said. He had stopped over to talk to Magnum. “You are crushing your running goals. I follow you on WinningRaces.”

“Thanks Rick. I may actually be able to place in the marathon if I keep this pace up.”

Rick headed back to La Mariana and Magnum handed Higgins a plate of food – a mixture of nuts for protein with some fruits and vegetables.

“What’s this?”

“I was reading some running articles while you were training. You need to fuel your body correctly.”

“Who are you?”

“Just consider me your coach.”

“Great,” she said, rolling her eyes, but took the plate and happily ate every bite.

“So tomorrow is a biking day,” Magnum said. “Let’s bike the route that Shelby disappeared on. Maybe we’ll see something we missed.”

Biking turned up nothing and they were both discouraged that night. 

“This case is so frustrating. Maybe she really did have a relapse,” Higgins said.

The next morning, Magnum dropped Higgins off for another run.

“I’m going to loop around,” he said. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Higgins gave him a thumbs up and went to warm up with the group.

Magnum waited a bit before pulling out of the lot, but didn’t go far. When he looked back at the parking lot, two runners were still lacing up their shoes and putting their bags down.

Higgins and the rest of the group came back, grabbed some water, and then headed out.

About 3 miles in, Magnum could hear her breathing become labored. “You OK Higgy? It’s a little warm today.”

“I’m not feeling so good. I think I’m going to turn around.”

“OK. Run back the way you came. I’ll run out and meet you.”

He u-turned quickly and raced back to the parking lot. Jumping out of the car, he started running up the path.

“Talk to me Higgins. You still with me.”

“I’m really tired.”

Then he heard garbled noises.

“I’m going back to the parking lot,” she said.

Magnum covered a mile in no time.

“Where are you Higgins?”

“Thomas? No not you,” she said to someone else. “My friend is meeting me.”

Thomas hit two miles. Higgins should have been in sight, but it wasn’t until he ran almost the full three miles before he found her. Someone was leading her off the path into the woods.

“Hey! Hey! Higgins.”

Thomas ran up to them and pushed the man away from her.

“Hey man. Easy. I was just helping her.”

“Thanks. I got this. Call 911.” The man nodded and pulled out his phone.

“Thomas?”

“I’m right here Higgins.” He gently lowered her to the ground. “I think someone gave you something.”

“Gave me something?”

She could hardly focus, but with Magnum’s help made it almost two miles down the path. “OK. Come on. Put your arms around my neck.” He picked her up, cradling her against him. “You are so going to owe me for this hike.”

She mumbled something that sounded like, “You wish,” but didn’t say anything else. Her head was nestled into his neck and he was having a hard time reining in his emotions. He hated that she had been hurt.

They were almost to the parking lot when they met HPD on the trail.

“What happened?” Katsumoto said. “Is she OK.”

“Someone gave her something. She’s definitely out of it,” Magnum said, carrying her over to a picnic table.

“Paramedics are on their way.”

Magnum sat down and eased her down next to him. The only thing keeping him from panicking was the fact that she was still breathing and would occasionally give him the evil eye when she was coherent for even a moment.

She leaned against his side. “You’re going to be just fine Higgy,” he said, maybe more to reassure himself than her.

Once the paramedics arrived, they checked her vitals and decided to take her to the hospital for tests. Magnum, desperate to follow her, suffered through Katsumoto’s questions.

“Look, I know you want to go with her, but if we’re going to find who did this, you need to answer my questions.”

Magnum explained about their case. “She was fine when I dropped her off. She stretched and then grabbed some water and went out with everyone else. Oh my God.”

“What?” Katsumoto asked.

“I was waiting for them to start their run and two runners were still back by all the bags and water bottles. I didn’t really see them do anything, so I didn’t think anything of it until now.”

“Do you see them here?”

“No. It was a man and a woman.”

He walked over to Higgins’ bag. “Her water bottle is missing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. She has this ridiculous Doberman sticker on it. It’s not here.”

“OK. Let’s see what the lab says after her tests. Let me know how she’s doing.”

The man, who had helped her on the trail, also was talking to HPD. Magnum walked over there on his way to the car.

“Listen man. I’m sorry I freaked out on you.”

“It’s OK. Totally understandable. I would have done the same thing if it was my wife.”

Magnum smiled without correcting him. “Thanks.”

A small amount of a sedative was found in Higgin’s blood. She was awake and quite bothered by the time Magnum arrived.

“What do you mean there are drugs in my system!” she was saying to the doctor when Magnum walked in. “It’s good to see you’re almost back to your usual self,” he said.

The doctor looked relieved to see Magnum.

“Doctor,” Higgins squinted at his nametag, “Morgenstern here was just telling me I was drugged.”

The doctor backed slowly out of the room, “No strenuous activity for at least the next 24 hours and plenty of fluids,” he said, giving Magnum a sympathetic look.

Magnum sat down on the edge of her bed. “I’m really glad you’re OK. That was too close.”

She leaned back against the pillows. “I don’t remember anything really. I just remember telling you I was really tired.”

“You had almost passed out by the time I found you. I think if that good Samaritan hadn’t been on the trail right then, you may have been the next victim.” He rubbed his hand over his face and then looked at her. “I really didn’t like that feeling, not knowing if you were OK.”

“I’m fine Magnum.”

“I’m glad.”

“Can we go home?”

“Yes.”

He told her about the missing water bottle on the way home and how he thought someone put something in her water. He also mentioned the runners he saw. “Well, no running for you for a couple days,” he said. She was still a little wobbly and leaned into him on the way to the door.

Kumu was waiting as soon as they opened the door. “Oh thank goodness. I was so worried. Let’s get you settled in your room.”

“That sounds lovely Kumu.”

As they started down the hallway, Higgins turned back to Magnum.

“Thank you Thomas.”

He smiled at her. “Any time Higgy.”


	3. A break in the case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Higgins and Magnum may have finally solved the case, but is it too late?

After a couple days of rest, Higgins was adamant about returning to the running group. “We need to just solve this case,” she said.

“What if this guy,” 

“or woman,” Higgins said.

“Isn’t in the running group? I didn’t recognize those two people who were near the picnic table the other day.”

“We don’t know everyone in the group,” Higgins said. 

“True.”

The case got even more confusing because Adam, their client, called to say that he had received a text from Shelby saying that she was embarrassed because she relapsed and wanted to get herself clean again before she saw him. Adam seemed to think Shelby was fine.

Neither Magnum nor Higgins believed that. Magnum decided to meet up with Rick and T.C. at La Mariana that night, but Higgins wanted to go to bed early before her long run the next morning.

He was telling the boys how frustrated he was with the case when Rick pulled up Higgins’ profile on WinningRaces. “She’s doing great,” he said. “Look at her pace and she can sustain that consistently.”

Magnum logged onto the app on his phone and pulled up Higgins’ profile.

“Wait. Can anyone look at these profiles?”

“I think so, as long as you have the app,” Rick said. “And as long as the person isn’t private.”

Magnum searched for Shelby and found her profile. Then he tried Anna, the other girl from the running group who was missing. She also had a profile.

“Maybe someone is targeting runners through this app,” he said. “I mean they can totally see where the runner is and their pace. And if the runner puts in their route ahead of time, it’s like an invitation.”

Rick nodded. “Higgins can probably see all the people who follow her.”

Magnum finished his beer. “I’m going to head home and ask her.”

“See you later man.”

Magnum found Higgins in the study. “I thought you were going to bed early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Magnum told her his theory and they immediately checked her followers, and started looking into Shelby’s profile and Anna’s.

“You may be onto something Magnum.”

“I know. I’m a genius.”

She rolled her eyes.

Instead of running with the group the next day, they decided that Higgins would pre-plan her route on the WinningRaces app and run by herself. While Magnum wasn’t thrilled with that idea, she pointed out that he could follow along just as easily on the app and she would wear the earpiece.

“That didn’t work so great last time,” he said.

They put in the coordinates for a somewhat secluded route and then made plans to head out early.

Magnum walked back to the guest house. He couldn’t quite shake the uneasy feeling he had.

The next morning, Magnum dropped Higgins at the start of her route. “Be careful,” he said.

They had made sure the road followed the path easily. There was just one section where Magnum would drive away from the trail and then meet back up with it after a mile. That’s exactly where the trouble started. A car was broken down blocking the road on one side, and someone had stopped to help and was blocking the other side.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my car. It started making these terrible sounds.”

Magnum was desperate to get around. “Let me try to start it.” The car started right up. 

“Wow. I’m not sure what was wrong. Thank you so much. Maybe I can get your address to send you a gift card.”

“I really don’t need anything. I’m kind of in a hurry, though. Can you move it?”

“Sure. Just let me call my boyfriend really quick to let him know that he doesn’t need to come get me.”

“Oh my God,” Magnum said to himself. 

He got back in his car and waited impatiently for her to move. He realized in an instant that he couldn’t hear Higgins. 

“Higgins? Can you hear me?” He pulled up the WinningRaces app on his phone. It wasn’t tracking her route or pace anymore.

The car inched forward in front of him and he sped around it. He raced back toward the trail, but couldn’t contact Higgins. He immediately called Katsumoto.

“Higgins is missing. I got stuck behind a car.”

“What? Where are you? You’re not making sense,” Katsumoto said.

“I think we figured out that the people behind the running app Higgins is using may be targeting runners. Can you get a subpeona for WinningRaces’ records? We need a list of users who follow Higgins. And, get the phone records for Shelby Winters’ phone.”

He called T.C. and Rick next to meet him on the trail. They combed the area, but she was already long gone.

“God dammit,” Magnum said, after they had searched the trail.

“Calm down man. We’ll find her.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. It’s Higgins. I told her I had her back and I failed her.” He sat down defeated.

“You didn’t fail her man. You have been doing everything you can to find her,” Rick said.

“Then why can’t I? It’s already been four hours.”

The WinningRaces app was created by two college dropouts and the whole operation was operated out of an apartment in Honolulu. Katsumoto called as soon as he arrested the men. It turned out that the app was just a front for a human trafficking ring. They were using the app to find their victims.

It still didn’t tell them where Higgins was.

Shelby’s phone turned out to be the key. Katsumoto was able to trace her phone, from the text she allegedly made to Adam, back to an address in nearby Ala Moana.

Magnum followed right behind as Katsumoto and HPD cleared the house. He raced down the basement steps as an officer kicked in the door.

A young girl stumbled forward when she saw them.

“You’re OK,” Magnum said. “Help is here. Just go out to that officer. Is there anyone else in here?”

He desperately tried to look into the room.

“Yes. Juliet is there. She saved my life. She needs help.”

Magnum rushed past the girl while she was still talking. He saw Higgins sitting against the wall.

“Higgy!”

He dropped down next to her. He touched her arm and then gently pushed her hair back to look at the bruising on her cheek.

“I’m OK Magnum. You should see the other guy.”

He laughed, but continued to look her over.

“Can you stand?”

She grimaced as she slowly pulled herself up, gripping onto his hand.

Katsumoto ran into the room. “Is she OK?”

“No.”

“I’m fine Gordon.”

“You need to be checked at the hospital. The paramedics are on their way,” Katsumoto said.

“I’m fine. I’m not going to the hospital again.”

Magnum watched as she gingerly moved forward. He could tell every time the pain hit because she tightened her grip on his hand.

“I’ll drive her.”

Higgins looked over at him annoyed, but even that movement cost her and she didn’t say anything.

“Alright. I’ll meet you there to get your statement,” Katsumoto said.

Magnum slowly walked Higgins out to the car and then waited as she gently lowered herself into the seat, biting back a cry.

“Higgy. Are you sure you don’t want to see the paramedics here?”

She glared at him and he ran around to the driver’s side. And while he wanted to punch the gas pedal to the floor, he kept his speed and turns smooth the whole way to the hospital.

They were sent to a room once they arrived.

“Back again so soon?” the nurse asked.

The nurse handed Higgins a hospital gown and told her that the doctor would be in shortly. Higgins stared at it for a few moments before looking over at Magnum.

As her eyes slid away from his, she asked, “Can you help me?”

“Sure,” he said with no editorial comments. “What do you need me to do?”

“I can’t move my arm at all.”

“OK. I got this. Give me your good hand.” He pulled the shirt off her arm and then gathered it up and eased it over her head and down her injured arm. Though he was extra careful, even the slightest movement sent daggers of pain through her shoulder and side, and tears squeezed out of the corner of her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s OK. Not your fault.” And she gave him a small grateful smile when he repeated the process in reverse with the hospital gown.

“OK. Now the pants.”

“What? I can get them.”

“Higgins! You are completely covered with the gown. And I’ve seen you in a bikini! Just let me do this.” He reached up under her gown, unbuttoned the button and unzipped her pants.

Once they were off, she sank gratefully onto the bed.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He adjusted the bed and then lifted her legs up.

“Are you cold? Do you need the blanket?”

“I’m fine.” She said for the 100th time that night.

He pulled his chair up next to the bed.

“I’m not sure what happened,” she said to his unasked question. “One minute I was out running and the next minute I woke up in that room with Jenny.”

“I know. It was the woman from the picnic table the other day. I should have been paying more attention, but I was focused on getting around her car. She purposely stalled me so I couldn’t get to you. Then I couldn’t hear you anymore.”

“He must have grabbed my phone.”

The doctor knocked and came into the room.

“Juliet Higgins?”

“Yes.”

Thomas started to stand up, but Higgins grabbed his hand. “Please stay.”

“OK,” he said, settling back into the chair with her hand firmly in his.

The doctor poked and prodded, and Higgins gasped when he touched her ribs.

“I don’t think they’re broken, but they’re definitely bruised. Your shoulder was dislocated, but at some point it was forced back into place.”

“I thought so,” Higgins said.

“Looks like you have a nasty cut on your forehead that will need a few stitches, but other than that, you’ll just have to rest and let these bruises, and your ribs, heal.”

The doctor then looked at Higgins and asked if she had been assaulted. Thomas sat up, tightening his grip on Higgins’ hand before she answered.

“No. He didn’t do anything like that. He was more into the beating.”

“OK. I’ll send someone in to stitch you up and give you some pain medication.”

“Thank you doctor.”

Magnum turned to look at her, the fear evident in his eyes.

“He didn’t hurt me like that Thomas. I’m OK.”

He nodded, not trusting himself to talk. He was not used to this feeling that was racing through him. It was a combination of wanting to protect her from ever being hurt again and wanting to seriously hurt the man who had done this to her.

“I’m really OK,” she said, as if reading his mind.

It was another two hours before Higgins was released and she could barely keep her eyes open. He drove home with one eye on the road and one eye on her. At Robin’s Nest, he insisted that she come to his house.

He settled her onto the couch and then went to warm up some soup for her. Before it was ready, she had fallen asleep.

Katsumoto chose that moment to stop by. “I was at the scene longer than I thought. I want to get Higgins’ statement.”

Magnum walked him into the kitchen. “No. She just fell asleep and I’m not waking her up.”

“It’s OK Thomas, I’m awake,” Higgins said from the other room.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing OK,” Katsumoto said.

“Thank you Gordon. Did you catch them?”

“Yup. We got them. Charles and Corinne Hamilton. They were wanted on human trafficking charges. They partnered up with those idiots from the app. Seems they were selling young girls to the highest bidder and the WinningRaces app gave them the perfect road map, so to speak, to their victims. I don’t think they counted on you though,” he said to Higgins. “We did find two bodies in the house. No ID yet, but we’re thinking Shelby and Anna. There were also four other girls in the house. Because of you, Higgins, they’re going to be just fine."

“Thank you. I’m glad to hear that,” she said, and added everything she could remember from the time they grabbed her until the time the police and Magnum arrived.

“Thanks Higgins. Well, I’m going to let you rest.”

“Good night Gordon.”

Magnum walked him to the door, locked up and went back to the living room.

He sat down next to Higgins.

“That was definitely not my favorite case,” he said. 

Higgins sighed and nestled into the couch. Magnum draped a blanket over her.

“OK Higgy. Time for you to get some rest.”

And for the second time that night, she asked him to stay.


	4. The test results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Higgins asks Magnum to come with her to her doctor's appointment.

Higgins knocked on Magnum’s door.

“You know, you can come in without knocking,” he said when he opened the door.

“I know. I just don’t want you to think I don’t respect your privacy.”

“Well, thank you. But you are welcome any time.”

She raised her eyebrows at that.

“Yeah. No need to worry about that. No one special in my life besides you! What’s going on?”

She held out a piece of paper.

“I got some test results back. From my doctor’s appointment a couple weeks ago.”

He took the paper and looked at her. “Everything OK?”

“I found a lump on my breast. They said they need to do further testing.”

“Wait, what? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was scared and I was trying to ignore the whole situation.”

“Higgins,” he sighed.

“Anyway, I need someone to drive me to the appointment. Will you come with me?”

“Of course. When?“ He quickly scanned the letter she had received. “Do they think it’s cancer?”

“That’s why they want to do another test. The results were inconclusive from the first round of testing.”

The appointment was that afternoon.

They walked into the doctor’s office and while Higgins filled out her paperwork, Magnum immediately started talking with the pregnant woman sitting next to him.

“Congratulations,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said. “Only a couple weeks now. It’s another boy.”

“Boys are great!” he said as the woman was called into her appointment.

Higgins came over to sit with him. He could tell she was nervous, but trying not to let him see.

“Hey, look at this Higgy,” Magnum said, holding up a Pregnancy Today magazine for her to look at. “You were right about all your vegetables.”

She smirked at him. This was exactly why she asked Magnum, and not Kumu, to come with her. He was comfortable no matter where he was. Even if it was in a doctor’s office surrounded by pregnant women. He was able to distract her without even trying. And, though she would never admit this to him, she felt protected when he was around, like she didn’t constantly have to pretend to be invincible.

“Juliet Higgins?” the nurse called her name.

Higgins stood up and looked back a Magnum. He could see the question in her eyes that she was afraid to ask. The nurse handled it for her.

“Mr. Higgins, you are welcome to join us.”

Magnum started to say that he wasn’t ‘Mr. Higgins,’ but Higgins grabbed his hand and pulled him after her.

Once again, she had to put on a hospital gown, but thankfully this time she was able to do it on her own. Magnum concentrated very hard at not looking at her. When she was finished, she sat on the exam table while he sat in the chair next to her.

“I’m really not a fan of needles,” she said, eyeing the extra-long needle sitting on the tray.”

Magnum squeezed her hand. “You’ve got this Higgy. You’re the strongest woman, hell the strongest person, I know.”

She smiled over at him.

The doctor came in and introduced herself. She explained the procedure to both of them and had Higgins lie back. Higgins immediately reached for Magnum’s hand.

“You can do this Higgy. I’m right here.”

Higgins closed her eyes throughout the procedure and squeezed Magnum’s hand tight when the needle went in.

“You’re doing great. Not too much longer,” he said. At least he hoped that was true because he was making sure to not actually look anywhere near her chest.

“Your husband is right. I’m almost finished.”

Neither one of them corrected her.

“OK. I think that should do it. We will get this to the lab and should have the results back to you within 24 hours. Once we know what we’re dealing with, we can set up a course of action.”

“Thank you,” Higgins said, sitting up.

“Yes, thank you,” Magnum said. He turned his back as Higgins got dressed.

“So I’m thinking we drive up to the North Shore, grab some food from that vegan place you love on the way and watch the surfers. There are supposed to be some good waves today.”

“You don’t have to babysit me Magnum.”

“I’m not. I know it’s going to be hard enough for me to not think about the results all day and I figure it will be 10 times worse for you. Come on. Let’s just try to enjoy this day and we’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.”

This time he was the one who reached for her hand. “You should listen to Mr. Higgins. He seems really smart.”

She smiled.

The next morning, Higgins walked into the kitchen while Thomas was making himself breakfast. “Hey! You came in without knocking. I was thinking that we could hike the ridge along the overlook today.”

When Higgins didn’t respond, he looked up and his stomach dropped. She had tears in her eyes and was trying very hard to keep her emotions under control.

“Hey. Honey.” The endearment only made the tears come faster. He came around the counter and pulled her against him. “It’s OK.” He whispered. Her arms wrapped around him. “I told you that you’re the strongest person I know. We’re going to get through this and I’m going to be with you every step of the way. Me and Kumu and T.C. and Rick.”

She wiped her eyes and stepped back from him. “I don’t have cancer.”

“What?”

“It was a false positive. Everything is fine. I just got so emotional when I found out. I was so nervous. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“Oh Thank God!” he said, grabbing her in a hug and lifting her off the ground. “That is awesome news. You’re really OK? We need to celebrate.”

They decided to go on the hike he had planned. When they reached the overlook, the sun was dancing on the water droplets that dotted the trees below making the world sparkle.

Thomas looked over at Juliet. “Look. After this case and your doctor’s appointment, it really made me think. I want to give this a chance,” he said, gesturing between the two of them.

“Ok,” she said.

“What? You’re not going to over think this for a month and make me come up with dozens of reasons why this is a great idea?”

She was rolling her eyes at him and he was moving toward her and reaching for her hands. Pulling her against him, he leaned down and kissed her.

“OK. Wow. I may need to kiss you again.”

For the second time that morning, she felt the ridiculous urge to cry.

Little did she know that he was already all in. Like marriage-kids-coaching-Little-League-rocking-in-old-people-rocking-chairs in. He should probably wait a little bit longer to tell her that though.

Like maybe until tomorrow.


End file.
